Hon. Chille Igbawua, a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Electoral Panel and adviser to the party’s national chairman, has said the party will examine allegations of irregularities arising from its presidential primary process.

Speaking on concerns raised by some aspirants and party members, Igbawua said the ADC remained committed to ensuring transparency and credibility in its internal processes, adding that complaints brought before the party would be properly reviewed.

According to him, the party deliberately created structures to assess its activities after every major exercise in order to determine whether the process met acceptable standards.

“The party is very keen on ensuring that when it puts its processes into action, they will be analysed after them to ensure the process went well or not,” he said.

Igbawua stressed that the ADC already has internal grievance and appeal mechanisms for aspirants dissatisfied with the conduct of the primary election, urging aggrieved members to channel their complaints through the appropriate procedures rather than making premature public accusations.

“Anybody who is aggrieved by the primary process should go to the appeal and state their reasons. Saying you don’t agree with the process is jumping the gun,” he stated.

Defending the credibility of the exercise, Igbawua argued that the spread of votes among the leading contenders demonstrated that the contest was competitive and fair.

He cited results from Benue State, where former Vice President Atiku Abubakar reportedly secured 55,000 votes, while former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi polled 30,000 votes and Mohammed Hayatudeen scored 22,000 votes.

“In Benue, Atiku got 55,000 votes, Amaechi got 30,000, and Hayatudeen scored 22,000. The playing field was level,” he said.

According to him, the ability of different aspirants to perform strongly in various locations reflected their political reach and showed that the process was not designed to favour a single candidate.

“Each of them winning some places shows that they had the reach. Atiku has lost some times; those who don’t win against him will learn lessons,” Igbawua added.

The ADC presidential primary has continued to attract reactions from within the party, with some aspirants alleging irregularities while party officials insist the process remained credible and open to review through established internal channels. (The Sun)

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